Sinn Fein spokesperson on the Irish language, Peadar Tóibín TD, has said that Fine Gael are deliberately avoiding huge recruitment issues regarding qualified teachers with Irish as it suits their pre-stated agenda to get rid of mandatory Irish in schools.

Speaking in the Dáil today Deputy Tóibín said:

“The shortage of Irish-medium and Gaeltacht secondary school teachers is reaching epic proportions, having been an issue for many years.

"There is a fear that the government are deliberately neglecting the problem so that the status of Irish is continually eroded to the point that the department will claim ‘well we have no choice but to get rid of mandatory Irish in second level’.

“We know that this is long time ambition of Fine Gael. Enda Kenny in 2011 proposed that Irish no longer be a mandatory subject at Leaving Cert level. Public outcry led to a reversal of that decision.

“However mandatory Irish will soon become untenable if the government doesn’t act now. In a survey commissioned by COGG (Ó Grádaigh, 2015) 94% of principles said that it was more difficult to find teachers for Irish medium schools than other schools.

"All but two schools surveyed admitted that they have had to recruit substitute teachers with little Irish. What are the department proposing to do to tackle this issue? Nothing.

"Before Christmas the department admitted that they had no plan for the provision of Irish language education, nor had they any intention to put a plan together for the future. As it stands, demand for Irish medium education far exceeds supply.

“The government has to stop their pretence and put together an all-island plan which is detailed and comprehensive in order to increase the supply of teachers and to promote the Irish language.

“Education is still one of the most important components on the future of the Irish language in its development both inside and outside the Gaeltacht. If we get education right, we have the power to change the Irish language narrative.

“Sinn Féin is committed to the development of a new Irish language deal. We seek the restoration of the Irish language as a spoken language throughout the Gaeltacht and communities throughout the island of Ireland.

"We want families considering raising their children in Irish to know that Irish has a bright and vibrant future.”